Microsoft revealed launch details of its Xbox Live Marketplace for 360, and from the early buzz it might just become an iTunes-like mecca for gamers. Xbox Live Arcade titles, including updated versions of Gauntlet, Joust and Robotron 2084 plus standards like backgammon, hearts and spades, run $5 each (with a few games creeping into $10-15 territory) - generally more reasonable than the earlier Arcade on Xbox. Game demos and trailers are free, and gamer pictures and dashboard themes typically run from a quarter to just under $2. There are also HD movie trailers including Aeon Flux, music videos for Audioslave and Franz Ferdinand and cool stuff from Red vs. Blue and Penny Arcade. The wacky part is that - unlike iTunes - you must prepay for bundled amounts of Microsoft Points: 1600 for $20 (roughly 1.25 cents per point) on retail cards, or 500+ at a time online. This is no doubt so Microsoft can make sub-$1 transactions profitable - otherwise, you might have a lot of $0.25 charges on your credit card, which cost more to process than they're worth. And also to allow younger gamers without credit cards to play, too. But couldn't they have thought up a better name, like Xbox Live Juice. Or Cool Stuff Credits. Or Xbox 360 Mojo Refill Packs...
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